After more than four years of armed conflict – and despite efforts to revive the peace process – humanitarian needs in South Sudan remain immense, as conditions continue to deteriorate.

To address these growing needs, IOM South Sudan is appealing for USD 103.7 million in 2018 to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance, as well as to support transition, recovery and migration management initiatives.

Today, an estimated 7 million people in South Sudan need relief aid, including 1.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). As conditions worsen each day that the crisis persists, sustained levels of lifesaving assistance are crucial.

“As civilians continue to bear the brunt of the crisis, experiencing violence and displacement, timely and effective humanitarian assistance is critical,” says IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission William Barriga. “IOM remains committed to responding to these needs and reaching the most vulnerable, wherever they are.”

The Appeal seeks to support approximately 1 million displaced people, their host communities, communities of potential returnees and migrants in South Sudan. In line with the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan, IOM will continue multi-sector humanitarian responses in camp coordination and camp management, displacement tracking and monitoring, health, shelter and non-food items, mental and psychosocial support and water, sanitation and hygiene.

In view of diverse displacement and crisis dynamics across the country, IOM has adopted an integrated approach, whereby migration management, recovery and stabilization efforts complement humanitarian interventions to build community resilience and reduce dependency on humanitarian aid.

The commitment to reaching the most vulnerable remains a priority. One IOM medical assistant and registered nurse, Mary*, walks more than one and a half hours to work from her small village every day, often in sweltering heat, to get to a basic but lifesaving IOM clinic in Baggari, a hard-to-reach area south of Wau town.

Also affected by the violence that has struck many communities in South Sudan, Mary recalls: “I ran from my house when fighting started in Wau [in 2016]. They took everything from my house and I ran because I feared for my life.” But, as she sits in the small clinic, she says, “I love this work. I love my people, and I love the patients.”

*Name changed